(PEHub) Darby Private Equity has acquired a majority stake in Acrecent Financial Corp., a commercial finance company operating in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. No financial terms were disclosed.

Washington, DC, January 13, 2014 – Darby Private Equity (“Darby”), the private equity arm of Franklin Templeton Investments, announced that Darby ProBanco Fund II has made an investment in Acrecent Financial Corporation (“Acrecent”) for a majority control position. Transaction terms were not disclosed.

Darby ProBanco Fund II specializes in the financial sector in Latin America, and has made five investments: a Latin America-wide regional investment, two regional investments in Central America, and two country-specific investments, in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, respectively.

Acrecent is a commercial finance company dedicated to providing businesses the capital needed to acquire essential equipment and information technology for which few financing alternatives exist. Acrecent tailors loan and lease facilities and offers significant structuring flexibility in a continual effort to meet customer needs. Having started operations in Puerto Rico in 2003, Acrecent expanded to other countries in the Caribbean. Darby’s investment will allow Acrecent to expand further into Central America, offering medium-size businesses, in particular, a new specialized financing alternative.

Roberto Velarde, Darby’s managing director for Latin America Private Equity, commented: “This transaction represents another example of Darby’s experience and capabilities in supporting middle-market companies with long-term growth capital in the region. Darby looks forward to working actively with the company to implement its strategic plans.”

Alejandro Schwedhelm, managing director responsible for Darby’s Financial Services Group commented: “Darby is delighted to partner with the founding shareholders of Acrecent, who have successfully built a state-of-the-art leasing operation, and which will now be expanded into the fast-growing Central America region.”

Darby Private Equity was founded in 1994 by The Honorable Nicholas F. Brady, who served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury between 1988 and 1993. Richard Frank joined the firm as CEO in 1997 after his career at the International Finance Corporation (IFC)/World Bank. In 2003, Darby became a fully owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN], a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. For more information please visit darbyoverseas.com.

Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management solutions managed by its Franklin, Templeton, Mutual Series, Bissett, Fiduciary Trust, Darby, Balanced Equity Management K2 Advisors and Pelagos investment teams. The San Mateo, CA-based company has more than 65 years of investment experience and over $879 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2013. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com.